Carbureter.



No. 843,112. PATENTBD PEB. 5, 1907.

V. C. SEVERANGE. CARBURETER.

APPLICATION FILED MAB-.3. 1906.

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PATBNTED FEB. 5, 1907.

V. C. SEVERANGE.

CARBURETER.

APPLIOATION YILBD MAR.3,19oe.

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VERNE C. SEVERANCE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CARBURETER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented net. 5, 1907.

Application filed March S, 1906. Serial No. 303,962.

To all whom it may col/werft:

Beit known that I, VERNE C. SEvEaANoE, a citizen of the United States oi: America, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Carbureters, et which the vfollowing is a specilication.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in carbureters, and to such end consists in certain novel features ot construction, a description of which will be found in the following specification and the essential vfeatures thereof particularly pointed out in the claims.

The invention is illustrated in the drawings furnished herewith, in which- Figure l is a front view of the apparatus containing my improvements. Fig. 2 is a vertical diametrical section taken in the line 2 2 of Fig. l, a portion of the carbureting tanks being broken away. Fig. 3 is a tragmental perspective view of one of the inner tanks and wick. Fig. 4 is a central vertical longitudinal section of the upper carbureting-tank. Fig. 5 is a cross-section in the line 5 5 of Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one ot' the inner tanks and a fragment of one of the outer adjacent tanks which sur rounds the same.

Referring iirst to Fig. l, A represents a frame in which is supported an air-pump B and a number of carbureting-tanks C C. The air-pump may be of any of the old and wellknown kinds and needs no vfurther description. Said pump operates to Vforce air into the carbureting-chamb ers through pipes b ln, which pipes are controlled by valves b2 b3 b4. The pipe l) is provided with a T-coupling b5 at its end7 and a nipple b connects the tank C with one branch of the T-coupling. A lilling-pipe lf connects with the other branch of the T-coupling and extends to a suitable source of hydrocarbon supply. The pipe b? is provided with a valve bs, which may be opened when it is necessary to hll the earbureter. Between the valves b2 b3 is inter'- posed the main outlet-pipe b9, through which the gas is conducted to the places where it is to be used. The gas flowing into the pipe b may be mixed with air coming from the pump B by opening the valve b3, and by this means any mixture of carbureted air and uncarbureted air may be had.

The carbureting-tanks C Cl are preferably arranged one above the other, as shown, and are connected by a pipe c, which extends l'rom the outer chamber ol" the lower tank to the innermost chamber of the upper one. At the place where the pipe c enters the outer chamber of the upper tank an air-tight oint is made by means ol a coupling d, the socket c of which is secured to the wall of the chamber and l'ormed with a tapered opening in which 'lits a tapered nipple c2, which is drawn into the socket c by a nut threaded upon the nipple and bearing upon the outside of the wall of the tank. From the nipple c2 the pipe extends into the inner chamber and -is carried up to a position near the top thereof by a pipe c3. The pipe b is also provided with a coupling similar to the one on the upper tank and extends into the inner chamber, where it is provided with an upwardly-extending pipe c".

Both of the tanks are provided with petcocks c, which can be opened when AIilling the tanks, so as to ascertain the amount olE hydroearbon put into the tanks. A pipe c7, provided with a valve es, extends from the bottom of the upper' tank and connects with a coupling in the pipe c. By opening the valve in the pipe c7 the lower tank can be 'filled from the one above. In A['illing the apparatus the valve b2 is closed, the valves b5 cs and petcocks ci opened. When the hydrocarbon reaches the level ol" the petcocks, they are closed, as are also the valves 71S and cs. The valve 1f: is then opened, the airpump started, and the earbureted air will presently [low out through the pipe b.

My present invention relates moreV particularly to the carburetingwchambers in which the air is charged with the vapors vlrom the hydrocarlmn, and this l'eature will now be described. To saturate air with hydrocarbon, it is customary to provide a tortuons passage of considerable length, through which the air is forced, and where any great capacity is required thcse tortuous passages are duplicated and placed side by side and one above the other, so that a great amount of space is required, resulting in a large and cumbersome apparatus. One of the aims oi" my present invention is to reduce the size of an apparatus of this kind without reducing the vaporizing surface necessary to give the same capacity. '.l` his I accomplish by making a number oi tanks C2 of varying sizes and placing them one within the other, as illustrated, thus forming chambers between any two adjacent tanks.

lIn the drawings I have shown the tanks in the form of cylinders closed at |ooth ends, each cylinder having an opening in one of its ends through which the air can pass from one chamber to the other. The course of the air through the chambers is indicated by arrows in Fig. 4, where it will be seen that it lirstpasses over the body of hydrocarbon, then out through the perforation in the rear end of the innermost tank, then back through the chamber between the wall of the tank through which it came and the wall of the adjacent tank. It then passes out through the perforation in the head of this tank, continuing its course through and around the various tanks until it escapes through the outlet in the outer chamber. A long and tortuous passage is thus formed which merely occupies the space contained in the outer chamber. The lower edges of the inner tanks are open, and the tanks may be slightly separated, so that the hydrocarbon will have free access to all of the chambers. The inner tanks are braced and held apart in any suitable manner.

I employ wicks I) in the vaporizing-chambers, which wicks are preferably constructed of some fabric-as, for instance, eiderdown* and, as shown, these wicks extend around the inner tanks to points near the open bottom edges thereof, where they are held in place by pins d. It has been customary to employ wicks in carbureters and to arrange the vwicks in the tortuous passages but these wicks were generally arranged in vertical planes. The hydrocarbon is drawn up the wick by capillary attraction and forms a sheet of semivaporous liquid supported by the wick. In my experiments I find that under the best of conditions the hydrocarbon will rise on a vertically extending wick through a distance of approximately twenty inches. rIhe evaporating-surface of a vertically-extending wick thirty inches long is therefore limited to an area, say,l twenty inches high (the level to which the hydrocarbon rises) by thirty inches long. I have discovered that if instead of placing the wick in a vertical plane it be bent out of a vertical plane and inclined at an angle thereto a much wider wick can be used as the hydrocarbon will still rise through a vertical distance of approximately twenty inches. If the wick extends at a very obtuse angle with respect to the vertical, the wick may extend out a considerable distance, although this is objectionable so far as practical purposes are concerned. The radiating-surface of the wick is, however, increased in proportion. To economize space with the use of wicks which have this greater radiating-surface, instead of carrying them out to any considerable distance, I bend them around in the form of a horizontally-extending cylinder and interpose them in the chambers between the adjacent tanks. By wrapping them around the tanks two wicks are provided to all intents and purposes in each chamber, which wicks extend up from both sides of the opening in the bottom, around the opposite sides of the tanks, and meet at the upper edge. In this way l have greatly increased the radiating-surface of each single wick without necessarily increasing the size of the apparatus and have consequently increased the working capacity thereof to a considerable degree. This carbureter has `been designed more especially for producting gas for illuminating and heating purposes, although its use need not necessarily be confined thereto.

I realize that considerable variation is possible in the details of this construction without departing from the spirit of the inven tion, and I do not intend, therefore,to limit myself to the specific form herein shown and described.

I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a carbureter, a carbureting-chamber comprising an outer tank, an inner tank of smaller diameter than the outer tank eccentrically disposed with respect thereto and supported upon the bottom thereof, an airinle't extending into and near the top of the inner tank, and an outlet in the outer tank.

2. In a carbureter, the combination with a hydrocarbon-tank, of a tank of smaller diameter within the same and forming an airpassage between the walls of the outer and inner tanks, an air-passage in the end wall of the inner tank, and a hydrocarbon-passage in the bottom of the inner tank, an air-inlet, a gas-outlet, and a wick supported in the airpassage between the two tanks.

3. In a carbureter, the combination with an outer tank, of a plurality of eccentricallydisposed inner cylindrical vaporizing-tanks of graduallydecreasing size, placed with their points of greatest separation at their upper ends, each tank having kair communication with its adjacent tank through one of its end walls and having a hydrocarbon passage-way through its lower side, an air-inlet passage and a gas-outlet passage.

Ll. In a carbureter, the combination with an outer 't ank, of a plurality of eccentricallydisposed inner tanks of gradually-decreasing size, placed with their greatest distance apart their upper ends and forming vaporizingchambers with their upper portions, each chamber having communication with its adjacent one through an opening in the end wall of the tank, and all of said inner tanks being immersed in the hydrocarbon, wicks extending around the tanks, an air-inlet passage and a gas-outlet passage.

5. In a carbureter, the combination with a IOO IIO

earbureting-tank, of a second tank within the iirst-nained tank, an air-"passage from the inner to the outer tank, through the end wall of the inner tank, an opening in the bottoni of the inner tank through which the hydrocarbon may enter, a wick interposed in the ehainber located between the two tanks, an air-inlet pipe extending through the outer and into the inner tank and terminating at a point near the upper wall of the inner tank, a gas-outlet pipe communicating with the outer tank, a IiIIing-pipe connected to the gas-outlet pipe, and Valves interposed in the AIiIIing-pipe a1.1d gasout1et pipe at points ad- )acent to their ]uneture.

6. In a earbureter, the combination with an outer tank 'for containing the hydrocarbon, of an inner tank supported therein, an air-passage between the two tanks opening through the end wall of the inner tank, an opening in the bottoni of the inner tank, an air-inlet opening into the inner tank, a gasoutlet opening from the outer tank, a wiek wrapped around the inner tank, and means upon the inner tank for securing the wick in place.

7. In a earbureter, the combination with an outer tank for containing the hydrocarbon, oi an inner tank supported therein, an air-passage between the two tanks openingI through the end wall of the inner tank, an opening in the bottoni of the inner tank, an air-inlet opening into the inner tank, a gasoutlet opening from the outer tank, a wiek wrapped around the inner tank, and pins upon the inner tank for securing the wick in place.

In wit-ness whereof I have signed the above application for Letters Patent, at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, this 24th day of February, A. D. 1906.

VERNE C. SEVERANCE.

Witnesses:

II. A. SU'rTLn, A. HAMILTON ONElLL. 

